Monday, March 10, 2008

COCONUT APPLE CAKE - DORIE GREENSPAN

For my birthday, last Christmas, I received baking expert Dorie Greenspan's wonderful and extremely well-praised/popular cookbook "Baking From My Home To Yours". I have already tried a couple of her recipes and I can say that, so far, they have all been very satisfying...

This book is a real baking buddy and a timeless classic as it is concise, very friedly, straightforward, helpful, not pompous and, most importantly, it guarantees highly successful results. It is written with style, clarity and is very well laid out. Her marvelous, award-winning, big and heavy book covers a broad range of recipes and baking methods (breakfast sweets like "Muffins", "Biscuits" or "Scones", pies, tarts, cheesecakes, cookies whether they are "Bar Cookies", "Cookie Jar Cookies" or "Side Of The saucer Cookies", cakes, loafs, yeast breads, quick breads, spoon desserts such as "Puddings", "Flans" or "Cobblers" and indispensables like "Sweet Tart Dough", "Lemon Curd" or "Caramel Sauce" ). Apart from offering a book chock-a-block full of gorgeous recipes that turn out wonderfullly, her writing is also very entertaining and enjoyable. "Baking From My Home To Yours" is an excellent resource for many baked goods!

Since I have become a series addict, it has become a habit for me to bake a scrumptious treat every Saturday afternoon. So last weekend, I decided to make her "Coconut Apple Family Cake" which was destined to by devoured in front of our favorite series of the moment ("Weeds"). As I was looking for something that would not be too rich nor filling, this cake fulfilled my expectations perfectly.

This seasonal, light, fluffy and moist cake was a real hit. We loved it for it's awesome hint of rum and cinnamon as well as for it's deliciously and defined taste of coconut and apple. Every flavor blended splendidly well together and taste-wise, it was well-balanced as well as remarkably gratifying. The magnificent apple jelly glaze really added an interesting fruity and slightly sour touch to the whole cake and contrasted delightfully with the overall homogenity and sweetness of it.A simple cake that will rejoice everybody in the house! Plain good!

Method for the "batter":1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).2. Butter a 22cm (9-inch) springform pan and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.4. Cut 2 of the apples into a small dice, cover with plastic wrap and set aside.5. Cut the 3rd apple from blossom to stem into slices about 6mm (1/4 of an inch) thick. Cover.

6. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and 1/2 cup of the sugar together for a minute.7. Whisk in the yogurt, oil, rum and vanilla extract and whisk for aboute 1 minute, until smooth.8. Still using the whisk, or switching to a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture, followed by the coconut and the diced apple.9. Scrape the batter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter.10. Arrange the sliced apples in an attractive pattern over the top of the cake and sprinkle them with the remaining 2 teaspoons sugar.11. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the apples and cake are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean.12. Transfer the springform pan to a rack, and cool the cake 20 minutes or so.

Method for the "glaze":13. Meanwhile, warm the apple jelly with the water just until it liquefies.14. Once the cake has cooled for 20 minutes, run a knife around the edges of the cake and release the sides of the pan.15. Using a pastry brush, give the top of the cake a generous gloss of glaze.16. Let the glaze set.17. Serve.

Remarks:Use Granny Smith or Golden apples for this cake.For this recipe, use either canola, grapeseed, sunflower or peanut oil.If you wish, you can add 1/2 cup ground pecans or walnut (or an equal amount of the same nut, finely chopped) to the cake batter.

You can replace the apples by pineapple slices or pears.This cake is a good keeper. Wrapped well, it will keep at room temperature for about 4 days.Note thast it can't be frozen, because of the glaze.

Serving suggestions:Serve warm with unsweetened condensed milk or at room temperature with a dollop of whipped cream or sweetened sour cream.

You are a wonderful baker and photographer! I found you through a Canadian blogger. I blog in the USA, but I am a cook, not a baker. I haven't the skill and patience required for baking!

I blog at La Casa de Los Gatos as ThePoliticalCat. I occasionally post healthy recipes and food/nutrition information, but not in the class of your Yums. Most of my posts are inclined to science and politics. Nice to meet you, though, and I'll be back.